Ellis Island is a massively multiplayer game focused on providing players with the experience of immigrating to the United States during the 1920s. Players must learn and communicate through multiple languages, gain new contacts, and increase their reputation, all the while improving or declining in their core skills. Arguments between players within Ellis Island take place through Social Combat, a card game involving the use of logic, passion, ethics, and deception. As players progress through Ellis Island, they will perform tasks relevant to one or more aspirations (careers). Although players may set an aspiration that they wish to reach, their path is never set in stone. The route they ultimately take will emerge from the choices they make and the people they meet.